Paradigm Theories
Define the Productionist Paradigm
Post-war period, focus on yield efficiency and scale of the food system
List the behaviors of a system (According to Meadows)
Concepts: Hierarchy, Stocks and Flows, Bounded & Bounded Rationality, Delays, and Feedback Loops
Behavior: Self-organizing, Affected by delays, Resilient, Oscillates, stocks and flows, purpose = behaviors rather than stated goals
Define 'Paradigm'
Standards, perspectives, or a set of ideas
What does MLP stand for and what does it mean
Multi-Level Perspective
framework for understanding how complex socio-technical systems change over time through the interaction of 3 levels: Niche, Regime, and Landscape
What was the Mansholt Revolution?
Transition of European agriculture. Focused on modernization, productivity, and policy.
What is the Iceberg Model?
Systems thinking tool to identify underlying patterns, structures, and mental models
Explain what a bottom-up approach is and provide an example
Starts with small and individual components that eventually build up
ex. community farms
Define 'Emergence'
Qualities, traits, and behaviors that arise unexpectedly and unpredictably
Define the Lock-in mechanism and provide an example
A process or structure that perpetuates the existing status quo and prevents innovative transitions.
Infrastructures, policies, beliefs
Define 'Transdisciplinary', 'Transgressive', and 'Transcendent'
Transdisciplinary: Inclusion of different and diverse knowledge/ideas/perspectives
Transgressive: Recognizes the existence of power asymmetries - Actions that violate moral/social boundaries and include a disruptive element
Transcendent: going beyond the usual understanding of the human experience
Define Life Sciences Integrated Paradigm vs Ecologically Integrated Paradigm
Ecologically Integrated Paradigm: To address global challenges, we must resort back to land connection, indigenous knowledge, and ecological processes
Life Sciences Integrated Paradigm: In order to address global challenges, we must use and develop technology and science.
Explain what a top-down approach is and provide an example
ex: Government-led policies
What is a transformation?
A fundamental change over time that involves holistic and systematic change and occurs at any geographical scale and different temporal scales
Define Niche and provide an example
Experimental spaces where new ideas, technologies, or organizational structures are formed, piloted, and gradually mature.
ex: R&D labs, policies, circular economy
(Actions or places where ideas or actions go against the regime)
What is CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture
Define Integrated Territorial Paradigm Vs. Agro-Industrial Paradigm
Agro-Industrial Paradigm: Optimization of the entire food chain
Integrated Territorial Paradigm: Optimizing agriculture in a territorial context
Explain the difference between positive and negative feedback loops and provide examples of each.
Negative Feedback Loop: Stabilizes a system by reducing the initiating stimulus, maintaining a set point
ex: Homeostasis
Positive Feedback Loop: A reinforcing loop in which the stimulus is amplified and pushes the system further away from the starting point
ex: Interest
Define 'Wicked Problems'
A complex social or cultural issue that is difficult or impossible to solve because it has incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements. There is no right answer.
Define Landscape and provide an example
A dynamic environment that is beyond the direct influence of actors at the niche and regime level.
EX: Demographic trends, political ideologies, societal values
Climate change, urban living, centralized production
Explain Cost-Price Squeeze
The outcome of costs of production rising faster than profit.
Response: New revenues, forms of cost reduction
Define Regulationist Theory
Based on the Marxist approach of political economy it explains how capitalist tendencies towards crisis are mediated by modes of regulation.
Regime of accumulation: System of production and consumption
Mode of regulation: institutions and social structures that prevent crisis
List all 12 leverage Points in order
Ways a system can be influenced
12. Constants/ Parameters/Numbers
11. Buffer Sizes
10. Material stocks and flows
9. Relative delays
8. Negative feedback loops
7. Positive feedback loops
6. Information flows
5. Rules of the system
4. Structure of the system
3. Goals of the system
2. Mindset/Paradigm
1. Power to see the paradigm
Explain 'Farm Enterprise Response', identify and explain the 3 main principles
Farmers respond to the increasing cost of production
Deepening: Farmers regain control over marketing/processing. Differentiate the quality of products. EX. Organic farming, regional products.
Broadening: Providing services to customers, EX. Agri-tourism, new on-farm activities
Regrounding: new forms of cost reduction EX. circular agriculture, off-farm income
Define Regime and provide an example
Semi-coherent prevailing rule-set that coordinates and structures social groups
ex: Centralization of supermarkets, streamlined manufacturing, take-away, and drive-through shopping
"How things are"
What is ANT (Actor Network Theory)
Theory on which food networks are based. Views all components within a system. Food systems are within food networks. Analyses different actors in a network.